Paintballers dream of Olympic role for sport

Jim McGowan, GB Paintball's head coach, said getting the sport into the Olympics was professional players' "dream"

Professional paintball players say getting their game to become an Olympic sport in the coming years is "everyone's dream" in the sport.

Staffordshire has become a hub for paintball with the Great Britain national teams training at a venue in the south of the county.

The head coach at GB Paintball, Jim McGowan said: "Growing paintball, having it recognised as a sport, and eventually getting it into the Olympics, is everyone's dream here."

He spoke as the second leg of a European championship event took place at the Staffordshire site.

The venue was "the hub of paintball" in the country and it was "where everyone comes to play, to grow," Mr McGowan told BBC Midlands Today.

GB Paintball's squads include a men's team and a women's team, as well as U16 and U19 teams.

Alex Dowson said the sport created a lot of team bonding and was fun

Paintball match formats can vary but many games last 15-20 minutes and a team scores points by hitting a buzzer on the opposing team's bunker.

They also try to "eliminate" players from the opposing team using their paintball markers.

Alex Dowson, GB Paintball's lead strength and conditioning coach, said he and his colleagues were setting their sights on the Olympic cycle after the next games in Los Angeles in 2028.

Mr Dowson, who lives in Kempsey, Worcestershire, said paintball was a high-adrenaline sport that would be "absolutely wonderful" for Olympics spectators to watch.

He added that paintballers should champion the sport's "physical, mental and social" benefits to help boost public interest in the game.

"There is such good team camaraderie and fun everywhere you look at these tournaments," he said.

"That shows you the health benefits, not only physically but mentally, that paintball can bring."